


Chiaroscuro Episode 2:  Paradigm Shift

by ThatSameSong



Series: Chiaroscuro (Life is Strange AU) [2]
Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Role Reversal, Bisexual Female Character, F/F, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Gen, Lesbian Character, Platonic Female/Male Relationships, Platonic Relationships, Science
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-25
Updated: 2020-03-25
Packaged: 2021-03-01 01:15:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 14,764
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23316724
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThatSameSong/pseuds/ThatSameSong
Summary: Episode 2 of "Chiaroscuro".  Episode 1 here:  https://archiveofourown.org/series/1668319Chloe struggles with the chaos surrounding Max's life, her time powers, and the people who care about her.
Relationships: Maxine "Max" Caulfield/Chloe Price
Series: Chiaroscuro (Life is Strange AU) [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1668319
Comments: 4
Kudos: 20





	1. Chloe's Dorm Room

Chloe was jolted awake by the opening strains of “Cody’s Theme” by AJJ.

She was lying on top of the covers, one hand hanging over the edge. Chloe was still in her hoodie and jeans from yesterday. She should have changed before she hoped into bed, but, well, she was kind of busy. And it wasn’t like her parents could get pissed at her from all the way in Seattle. Probably.

Chloe sat up, tucking one leg under the other. _Ugh._ She just got to sleep five seconds ago. Why the fuck was her alarm going off? And why did her head feel like it was splitting open? Must have been a wild crazy night.

She turned off the alarm so she could think. Chloe’s brain was a little hazy from lack of sleep. And probably the drugs. She’d blazed _a lot_ last night. It was the only way she could stay focused.

There were books stacked everywhere and a bunch of post-it notes all over Chloe’s walls. _Oh. Right._ Chloe had been up all night researching. Which was weird because Chloe was pretty sure yesterday had been some weird fever dream. Time powers? Nathan Prescott with a gun? That video of Samantha? Max? There was no way any of that actually happened.

So why had she spent at last five or six hours looking through books and scouring the Internet? _Funny._ Chloe usually hated homework. But if it meant figuring out her power, she was more than okay with it. _Head in the game, Price._

Chloe hopped out of bed. She was totally wrecked from getting zero sleep, but she needed to figure this stuff out. Maybe unlocking the origin of her power was the key to stopping that crazy fucking storm from wiping out Arcadia Bay? As a scientist, Chloe was intrigued. As an eighteen-year-old, Chloe was scared shitless.

The Post-It notes weren’t exactly helpful. Chloe had a wide range of theories, from black holes to quantum mechanics. But it was all just that: _theories._ Chloe had nothing concrete. If this was science, it was a phenomena that was entirely theoretical. Except it _wasn’t theoretical_ , because Chloe could literally travel through time.

Chloe _did_ have a better grasp on her powers after a bit of experimenting. Apparently she couldn’t travel back further than a few minutes at a time. If she tried to push herself, the pain in her head got so bad that she was forced to stop. So testing her limits was probably a super bad idea. And she more Chloe used her powers, the worse her headache became. Based on all of this? Chloe had concluded that this was one hundred percent her. She really did have all the power.

Her computer was still on. Her web browser was open with at least fifty tabs. Mostly bullshit conspiracy websites and forums. Apparently “real time travel” wasn’t the best search query. Most of the actual scientific sources all said the name thing: actual time travel was impossible. Nothing Chloe knew about quantum physics could explain what she could do.

Chloe checked her e-mail. _Score!_ Mikey had sent her a bunch of recommendations for movies about time travel. If Chloe couldn’t find the answer in science, why not try some science _fiction?_ And Chloe managed to get Mikey’s help without telling him anything. For now, this was strictly a Max and Chloe thing.

Her phone went off. Someone was texting her.

It was Max. Max wanted to meet at the Two Whales Diner in forty minutes so they could talk about all this insane shit. Chloe texted back promising she’d be there and warning Max that she was definitely going to be super late. Max replied with a winking emoji and promised to wait.

Chloe tossed her phone onto the bed. _Fuck._ She almost forgot the Two Whales was even a thing. Before she left for Seattle, she promised herself she was going to eat there every day if she ever came back to Arcadia. Breakfast with best friend was a good start.

She raised her arm and sniffed at her armpit. _Ugh._ Chloe smelled like the inside of a tire. Chloe couldn’t meet Max like this. She did have _some_ dignity.

Chloe grabbed her shower supplies and headed into the hallway. Today was all about Max. She had to make something happen. The universe clearly wanted them together even if Max didn’t seem to realize it. And Chloe _wanted_ to be together.

Victoria was standing outside her room talking to Taylor. They both stopped talking when Chloe Price showed her face.

Chloe flipped them off. _Oh please._ She knew those assholes were talking about her. Probably trying to figure out why she left class like that. As if it was any of their fucking business.

“Charming,” said Victoria.

She turned to Taylor and said something to her. She spoke so quietly that Chloe couldn’t hear what it was. If Chloe had to guess, it was probably something about how Chloe needed an attitude adjustment.

Chloe rushed to the bathroom. She noticed Dana and Juliet arguing about something, but she didn’t even slow down. Drama queens being dramatic. _Shocking._ Dana was at least kind of cool. She must have done something really bad to piss off Juliet.

She shoved open the bathroom door and ran inside like she was being chased. Dodging teen drama at Blackwell had to be some kind of superpower.

Speaking of superpowers, Chloe really needed to understand what the hell was happening to her. Right now, Chloe’s working theory was that it had something to do with the snow. _Somehow._ Freak weather and freaky time powers? There had to be a connection. Or maybe Chloe was messing up the timeline so bad that it made snow happen? _Ugh._ Chloe couldn’t even wrap her head around any of that.

Chloe hopped into the shower. It was strange. She didn’t actually _feel_ dirty until she actually felt the water running down her shoulders. But suddenly it all hit her like a punch to the gut: how much her limbs ached, her stiff neck, that subtle persistent throbbing at the back of her head. _Fuck._ Chloe hadn’t had a real late night study session in forever. Unless she counted all the essays and stuff she’d crunched the night before they were due.

A few minutes later, Chloe wrapped a towel around herself and left the shower. The steam had cleared Chloe’s head a little. But she still needed to wake and bake. There was no way she could leave the dorm without some serious medicating. Now that she could control time and space, Chloe could get twice as high in zero amount of time.

Chloe stuck one hand in the sink and twisted the faucet. She really needed to wash her face and make sure she didn’t look like a total loser when she met with Max.

Victoria–in all her asshole glory–came into the bathroom. She was giving off her usual snobby art critic vibes. The haircut and that stupid cashmere sweater really completed the picture. What the hell was she trying to prove? It wasn’t like the art world was looking to Blackwell students for guidance.

Victoria folded her arms and let out a little noise of disgust, like she’d just stuck her foot in something gross. Chloe had fond memories of the time someone punked Victoria by putting fake dog crap in her expensive shoes. Chloe wished she could have taken credit for that masterful act of prank.

Chloe plastered on her best overly cheerful smile.

“Good morning, Victoria,” she said.

Chloe knew she looked super dumpy in comparison to Goddess and Mistress of Blackwell Victoria Chase. Of course Victoria couldn’t leave her room without a full face of expensive make-up, her hair perfectly brushed and styled, and the best pieces in her closet. Chloe couldn’t blame her. If Chloe had looked like that, she probably would have flaunted. _Keep it in your pants, Price._

“Whatever, bitch,” said Victoria.

She went over to the sink and started scrubbing her hands.

Chloe wanted to just walk out. But after saving Max’s life the other day, she was kind of on a hero high. She knew Victoria posted that video of Samantha. And for what? So she could get famous for being gross? Just because she could? Victoria was a hundred percent pure evil. Comic book levels of dastardly. And no one at Blackwell actually had the balls to stand up to her.

Victoria glanced at Chloe, her hands still under the water. She looked sort of distracted, like she had a million thoughts flitting around her head. But even that wasn’t enough to stop her from being a complete dick.

“Um, hello?” said Victoria. “You have something you want to say? No? Get lost, slut.”

Chloe took a step towards Victoria, one hand cinching the towel firmly around her chest.

“Slut?” she said. “Is that what you called Samantha after you took that video?”

Victoria grabbed a paper towel from the dispenser and swabbed her hands with it. She rolled her eyes at Chloe.

“Didn’t know you were BFFs,” she said. “That’s cute. Why do you even fucking care? I didn’t _make_ little Sammy go to that party.”

Chloe took another step, backing Victoria against the sink. She always talked about how scum like Victoria deserved a thousand beatdowns. Well, it was Victoria’s lucky day. Chloe was about to put her money where her mouth was for once.

“You also didn’t stop het from getting drugged,” said Chloe. “And you just fucking _watched_ what was happening to her. Do you have any idea how screwed up that is?”

Victoria narrowed her eyes.

“I know where you live, Chloe,” she said. “So does Nathan.”

Chloe didn’t even flinch. As if Nathan wasn’t already after her because of that whole situation in the parking lot yesterday. Victoria was such a chickenshit with her stupid threats. Why were those elite idiots such huge goddamn cowards? Chloe almost felt like a bully. But in her defense, Victoria bullied first.

“Cool,” said Chloe. “Tell your attack dog he needs to get some new material.”

Victoria crossed her arms and studied Chloe with contempt.

“You think you’re so _tough,”_ she said. “Bet you won’t be laughing after Nathan kills your scholarship.”

Chloe laughed. She couldn’t even act like her scholarship was a priority. It would suck if she lost it and had to run back to Seattle, but whatever. Chloe had bigger stuff to worry about than going to some dumb pretentious school with a bunch of wannabe artists and nerds. Like the massive storm that might obliterate the town and everyone in it. That storm _really_ put everything in perspective.

Victoria balled her hands into fists. She looked like a toddler about to throw a tantrum of epic porportions. She was so _small._ Everything was small compared to Arcadia Bay’s fate.

“Look, I don’t know what’s up with you,” said Victoria. “But you have no idea what Nathan’s capable of. So back the fuck off, bitch. Don’t test me.”

Chloe wasn’t sure about her move here. Did she back off and let Victoria run out of steam? Or did she push? Maybe if Chloe actually applied her big girl brain, she could squeeze Victoria for info about the party.

“What _Nathan_ is capable of?” said Chloe. “What, like peeing his pants whenever Daddy’s not around to fix his problems? I’m not scared of him or you, Victoria.”

Victoria snorted.

“Nathan doesn’t need his _dad_ to fix anything,” she said. “He can take care of things on his own. Unlike you.”

Chloe grinned.

“You hear that, Vic?” said Chloe. “That’s the sound of inevitability. And also me giving zero fucks.”

Victoria’s eyes flashed with rage. She looked like she might actually try to claw Chloe’s eyes out. Not so tough without her loyal minions Taylor and Courtney. Victoria was just another bully. All bark and zero bite.

“You have no idea what you’re talking about,” said Victoria. “Nathan fucking _owns_ you. His dad is on his way. You and all your bitch friends are totally screwed.”

Her voice rose.

“Don’t pretend like you know him!” she said. “Don’t pretend like you have any fucking clue what he or me or anyone is going through.”

For once, Victoria wasn’t totally wrong. Chloe _did_ have zero clue what Nathan or Victoria were going through. But Chloe also didn’t give a crap. And she doubted she would have even if she knew. Nathan pulled a gun on Max and Victoria was straight-up evil. What else did Chloe need to know?

Okay, so now Chloe knew Victoria was super protective of Nathan. She wasn’t sure what she was going to do with that information, but it had to come in handy at some point.

She almost hit the reset button, but Chloe decided she liked that outcome. She liked standing up for Samantha and giving Victoria a piece of her mind. It was cathartic. And Chloe didn’t want to rewind and fuck everything up. She wanted to stay in the universe where Victoria knew just how little Chloe cared about her threats.

“Whatever,” said Chloe. “Have fun.”

She left the bathroom with her clothes stuffed into her shower supplies bag. Chloe could hear Victoria seething behind her, but she didn’t look back.


	2. The Diner

Chloe went to her room and got dressed. She put on the same hoodie and jeans combo from yesterday–different hoodie, different jeans–but she changed her shirt. Now it was a graphic T-shirt with a punk skull butterfly on the front.

She got another text from Max while she was getting ready. Apparently Max was going to be running a little late, but that was okay. Chloe could just grab a booth and wait.

Chloe sent a quick reply: _Fking A,_ _M_ _aximus. Consider the tables turned. You better not stand me up. xoxo P_

She shoved her phone into her pocket, grabbed her bag, and finally left the dorm. It was so fucking adorable that Max was the one being late for once. Max was officially not allowed to get pissed at Chloe for being thirty or forty minutes late. Late life was the best life.

Chloe passed Samantha’s slate on the way out. Someone had written _“For a good time, check out Samantha’s video”_ on it. Three guesses as to who would be that much of a dick.

She considered leaving it because, well, it was none of her business. And Chloe needed to kind of run if she wanted to get off campus and hit the Two Whales like she planned.

But Samantha wasn’t like Chloe. If some dickhead wrote something on her slate, Chloe would have rolled her eyes and been over it in minutes. Just Blackwell assholes being Blackwell assholes. But Samantha didn’t deserve any of this and there was no way she could handle it either. If Arcadia Bay didn’t get destroyed at the end of the week, Chloe was taking Samantha on a tour of the best coffee places in Oregon.

Chloe erased the slate and wrote _“Victoria Chase should go fuck herself. You’re awesome, Samantha”._ Was that too much? Probably. But Chloe wasn’t going to rewind and redo it until she got something cool. Time was on her side, but she still had places to be and people to do.

Chloe started to step away, but she jumped back when Samantha’s door opened. For some reason Chloe hadn’t expected Samantha to be in there.

Samantha’s eyes were puffy and red from sobbing. She looked even thinner than she had the last time Chloe talked to her. For someone who usually stayed out of everyones’ way and got ignored, this must have been ten layers of Hell. Half the school was talking about that video.

“Oh hey,” said Samantha. “Did you want something?”

Chloe hesitated. She wanted to be totally honest: she was heading out and hadn’t really planned on even talking to Samantha today. But how could Chloe say that to Samantha’s face when Samantha had been crying her eyes out? That would have been an asshole move even by classic Chloe standards.

“I-I wanted to see how you were doing,” said Chloe.

That technically wasn’t a lie? If Samantha had texted Chloe and asked for help, Chloe would have replied in a heartbeat. But if Samantha wasn’t trying to engage, Chloe gave herself a pass.

“Oh,” said Samantha. “Thanks.”

She smiled. Another genuine smile that made Chloe feel shitty for kind of lying.

“Is that–is that it?” said Samantha.

Chloe thrust a hand into her bag and rooted around for something. _Ugh._ Sometimes Chloe wished she was Max. An adorable nerd who always seemed to know what to say to people. Chloe just wasn’t good at this stuff.

She finally found it: a CD of Pisshead’s EP, one of her all-time favorite albums and her all-time favorite band. Chloe wasn’t sure what kind of tunes Samantha jammed to, but she was pretty sure love of that band was universal. And it was all Chloe had on her that she could just give away.

Samantha looked surprised when Chloe shoved the CD into her hands.

“Uh, thanks,” said Samantha.

Chloe backed away, waving and smiling. Good thing she had another copy of that CD. Chloe loved that album so much that she bought it twice. Pisshead was probably the only good thing to ever come out of Arcadia Bay.

Chloe finally got out of the dorm. She actually felt better about herself. Was this why Max–the old Max–spent so much time trying to help people? Was Max just chasing those nice warm fuzzies?

She spotted the creepy janitor guy inspecting a broken window. Chloe snuck past because she didn’t want to get caught up in a conversation with him. Samuel was probably harmless, but he was such a total weirdo.

Mikey and Steph were waiting for her near the entrance to the main campus. They pretended not to see her until she was right in front of them, but Chloe wasn’t fooled. She knew they’d been waiting for her. Chloe didn’t get why either of them bothered.

“On patrol again?” said Chloe.

Mikey stuffed his phone into his pocket.

“Oh my god,” he said. “Are you okay? What–what was that even about? In the parking lot?”

Chloe adjusted the strap of her bag. _Dammit._ They were never going to drop it, were they? They was going to just keep hounding her until she told them everything. Well, almost everything. Mostly the parts about Nathan and the gun and Max.

“Who was that lady you rode off with?” said Steph. “She a friend of yours?”

Chloe hesitated. Should she even talk about Max?

_Fuck it._ Chloe could always be kind and rewind if either of them got too pissed.

“Relax,” said Chloe. “I’m not replacing you. Max is just…an old friend. She really saved my ass yesterday.”

Mikey frowned.

“Yeah, she did,” he said.

Chloe was relieved. Drama averted.

Mikey rubbed the back of his neck.

“We never had our coffee date,” he said.

Chloe playfully slapped his shoulder. Honestly, she totally forgot that she promised her buds coffee and conversation. First the Nathan stuff happened, then Max, and then the whole day got away from her. Chloe hadn’t even read any of Mikey’s texts from yesterday night. Too much research.

“It’s fine,” said Chloe. “Next week, okay? Shit is kind of insane right now. I’m meeting Max in, like, an hour.”

Steph and Mikey looked at each other.

“Maybe we can come with you?” said Steph. “Make it a foursome?”

Chloe cringed. _Geez,_ _guys_ _. Phrasing._

“It’s, uh, kind of a me and Max thing,” said Chloe. “You’re–you’re awesome. Really. But me and Max haven’t talked in years and I’m kind of trying to make up for lost time. Get it?”

Mikey’s face fell, indicating that he definitely got it. Steph looked less a lot less disappointed, but that was just Steph. Always chill. Chloe felt incredibly bad for both of them. They tried so hard to make her time at Blackwell less annoying and now she was ditching them.

“Um, maybe you can do your coffee with someone else?” said Chloe. “Like–like Stella? Or Brooke?”

Mikey adjusted his glasses and didn’t say anything. Chloe felt really bad for the guy. Mikey didn’t have a lot of friends. It was basically just Chloe and Steph. It must have sucked for Mikey to feel like he was getting blown off, even if he still got to hang out with Steph.

“Yeah, I guess we could ask Stella,” Steph said.

Chloe hoped the three of them hit it off, became the best friends ever, and Steph and Mikey totally forgot about this conversation. That would make Chloe feel better about being such a shitty friend.

“Bye,” said Chloe.

She left, hoping Steph and Mikey were serious about calling Stella. They deserved better than her sad excuse for friendship.

* * *

Chloe took the bus into town. She put in her earbuds and zoned out to “Friend” by Pisshead.

There wasn’t much going on in the middle of Arcadia Bay. A fisherman had set up a booth outside the diner to hand out pamphlets about some boring environmental stuff. Chloe tried not to make eye contact with him as she hurried inside. Unless it was about that freak snowfall yesterday, Chloe wasn’t interested in weather talk.

The inside of the diner looked pretty much the same. Same booths, same crap playing on the jukebox. It was like stepping into one of Chloe’s earliest memories. She could hardly believe her mom used to work there back when they lived in Arcadia.

Chloe went over to the jukebox and changed the music. The place needed to liven up a little. Maybe some slamming guitar and drums would wake everyone up. Chloe definitely needed the rush of “Move” by Pretty Vicious.

She hopped into a booth. _Holy shit._ Chloe actually missed this. She missed grabbing free breakfast almost every morning and watching her mom be a total badass at work. Joyce was pretty okay about working at that coffee place in Seattle, but Chloe kind of wished the Two Whales went with them when they moved. Arcadia Bay didn’t deserve a place like this.

The waitress who took Chloe’s order looked nothing like Joyce. She was older, thinner, sadder. She didn’t even make a snarky comment about Chloe’s order. The waitress just nodded and left, promising Chloe’s bacon omelet and coffee would be out in a few minutes. It was way too formal and nothing like the banter Chloe used to have with her mom.

Chloe fidgeted. _Your mom’s in Seattle, Price. Boo fucking hoo. You could be too, you know._

Yeah, she _could_ be in Seattle. But she wasn’t because of stupid Blackwell and stupid Max and her stupid scholarship. It was funny how Chloe was drawn back to this place at the worst possible time. Or maybe the best possible time, because she got to see Max again. Silver lining. Now all Chloe needed to do was figure out this storm and her time powers.

Chloe stared out the window. She could have lived this exact moment a dozen times. But why would she even bother? That wasn’t what Chloe’s rewind was for. Of course, it wasn’t _for_ anything. It was just something she had.

Her and Max were going to figure this out. _Together._

The waitress brought Chloe’s coffee and her food. Chloe sipped and munched while she waited for Max to show up.

Chloe’s phone went off. She wiped some crumbs from her face and grabbed it. She guessed it was Max saying she was going to be even more late. Chloe kind of hoped that was the case. She was never letting this go.

But it wasn’t Max. Mikey had texted her a photo.

Mikey was holding a mug of steaming coffee and grinning. In the background, Stella was giving the camera a thumbs-up and a nervous smile. Steph was sketching something out in her notebook, seemingly oblivious to the two dorks she was sharing a table with. Classic Steph.

A smile tugged at Chloe’s lips. _Holy shit,_ _guys_ _. Good job._ Maybe Chloe _was_ good at this friendship thing. All she had to do was pair people off and coffee did the rest of the work.

Chloe put her phone down on the table as Max walked in. And speaking of doing the whole friendship thing…

Chloe raised her hand to get Max’s attention. She was caught off guard for a second because she wasn’t used to Max’s new style. The old Max was all about sweaters and hoodies and a lot of the stuff Chloe had in her own wardrobe. This new Max preferred short-sleeved punk shirts that showed off the tattoo on her arm.

“Glad you could make it, Mad Max,” said Chloe.

Max slid into the booth. Today she was wearing a black shirt with a doe skeleton on the front. The word _Jane_ was printed in simple pink text over the skeleton. It looked kind of like a band T-shirt.

“Still the same old whales,” said Max. “I keep forgetting what this place looks like.”

Chloe leaned back and spread her arms over the back of the booth.

“Oh come on,” she said. “You must have, like seven hundred pictures of the sign out front.”

Max fiddled with the napkin dispenser.

“I haven’t really been, uh, taking pictures,” said Max. “Not in town.”

Chloe blinked. And just when she was dumb enough to think she had this new Max pinned, stuff like this came out of nowhere. Since when did _Max fucking Caulfield_ not spend every waking moment glued to that dumb little camera? _Wow._ A lot of Max’s dreams must have died after Chloe bailed on her.

_Chloe Price: Destroyer of Dreams._ Chloe needed that on a business card.

“So I’m guessing you don’t have any fresh shots for me?” said Chloe. “Bummer. You know how much I love your photos, Max.”

Max shrugged.

“On me?” she said. “No. I took some shots at the junkyard a few weeks ago. But I’m not very good anymore. You don’t want to see those.”

Chloe arched an eyebrow.

“You’re hanging out at the junkyard?” she said. “Wow. I like this new bad girl Max.”

Max blushed.

“Oh shut up,” she said. “Me and Rachel had a little hideout there. It’s good for taking pictures and no one ever bothered us.”

_Oh. Right. Rachel._ The missing girl. Chloe leaned across the table. She really didn’t want to talk about Rachel. So Max had a friend–more than a friend–while Chloe was flaking. _Whatever._ Chloe was happy for Max. She was happy for both of them.

“So we agree this all has to be connected, right?” she said. “Rachel, the storm, my powers. It can’t be a coincidence.”

Max dragged a hand through her messy hair.

“You think this has something to do with Rachel?” she said.

Chloe nervously chewed her lip. She’d only been at it for one night. She barely had anything yet. But there was no way this was all a coincidence. Some girl went missing and suddenly Chloe had time powers and Arcadia Bay was facing destruction? That was too much in a relatively small time frame. It was like that with science: if too many things lined up perfectly, it started to look like something deliberate. But this was just a hypothesis. Chloe needed more facts.

“Maybe?” said Chloe. “Did she seem, um, weird when you knew her? Did she have any powers or, like, an aura?”

Max shook her head.

“No, she was–she was normal,” said Max. “I mean, she was beautiful and smart and talented, but…she was normal.”

Well, so was Chloe Price. This seemed like a perfect example of strange attractors. Of course the geek girl in a small town got time powers after Blackwell’s favorite went missing. There had to be a connection.

Max tugged at her shirt.

“She took me to this show,” said Max. “Jane Doe? She bought me–well, she _stole_ this shirt for me. I didn’t even like Jane Doe. But being with Rachel was so…electric. The music didn’t even matter.”

Chloe chuckled.

“Wow,” said Chloe. “You really fell for this girl, huh? Can’t wait to meet the bombshell who swept Max Caulfield off her feet.”

Max opened her mouth, but Chloe already knew what she was going to say.

“We’re gonna find her, Max,” said Chloe. “We have to. If this is all connected, there’s no way we won’t run into her.”

Did Rachel have answers for them? Did Rachel somehow know why this was happening? Or was she the _reason_ this was happening? Chloe felt like this was all tied to Arcadia Bay. But she couldn’t see any of the pieces or how they connected.

Chloe tapped the table with her fingers.

“Okay,” said Chloe. “So you were looking into Rachel, right? Trying to find her? You have to know who she was involved with at Blackwell.”

Max looked around, like she was scared someone might overhear them. She pulled her phone out of her bag, opened up the photo app, and showed Chloe an album.

“She hung out with everyone,” said Max.

She scrolled through the photos, showing Chloe some faces that Chloe recognized and a few she didn’t. Chloe was pretty sure the guy with the glasses was….Evan? Another stuck-up Blackwell artist. Less of a dick than most of the guys at Blackwell, but still a total snob about his dumb portfolio. There was also a group shot of the Vortex Club—Nathan front and center wearing the douchiest hat Chloe had ever seen—and more than one shot of Samuel the janitor. Chloe didn’t know about that one. Sure, Samuel was sort of a creep, but he didn’t really strike Chloe as the kind of guy who kidnapped girls. And Chloe just laughed at the shots of Justin and his skater bros. _Really?_ Justin and his buds were too busy smoking weed and grinding rails to kidnap anyone.

“Lots of info,” said Chloe. “Really narrows it down. Great work, Watson.”

Max tucked the phone back into her bag and rolled her eyes.

“No one knows anything,” Max said. “The only solid lead I have is the Vortex Club. Would help if I could crash one of their dumb parties.”

Chloe grimaced. Of course it was the Vortex Club. She was pretty sure those elite dicks had something to do with Rachel vanishing. But why? Was it just Nathan or were all of those assholes in on it? Or was Chloe being super fucking paranoid?

Max leaned back in her seat.

“I’m still not sold on your powers,” she said. “I know you proved it in my room, but… I think I’m gonna need more than that. You need to show me something more real.”

Chloe grinned.

“Thirty-two cents,” said Chloe. “Planet of the Apes. A doe.”

Max blinked, surprised.

“What?” she said.

Chloe’s grin widened.

“Check your pockets,” she said.

She watched as a confused Max emptied her pockets. Thirty-two cents, a ticket stub, a flyer for an ape movie marathon, and a set of keys with a doe keychain clattered onto the table.

Max stared, her mouth slightly open in shock.

Chloe winked and shot Max a finger gun. It took her three tries to get that right. The first two times, Chloe fucked up by being too vague with her answers. Now she knew exactly what Max wanted to hear.

“How did you…?” said Max.

Chloe pretended to dust herself off.

“Um, time travel?” said Chloe. “Keep up, Max. We’ve done this before.”

She touched the flyer.

“And yes, I will totally go ape with you when all this is over,” she said.

Max had asked her that question twice already, although this Max didn’t think she’d asked. Impressing Max continued to be a huge perk of Chloe’s powers.

“What else have you rewinded?” said Max.

Chloe pretended to think.

“Well, you totally made a move on me a few minutes ago,” she said. “Thought I’d hit the old “reset” and save you some embarrassment.”

Max laughed.

“You’re so full of shit,” said Max. “Be serious.”

Chloe shrugged her shoulders. Okay, Max was right. That hadn’t happened. _Yet._ The day was still young. Plenty of time for Max to embarrass herself and for Chloe to use her trusty remind to make it go away. That was what friends were for.

“Bacon?” Chloe said.

She shoved a forkful of omelety-goodness into her mouth. _Fuck._ This was hands-down the best bacon omelet she’d ever had. One thing Seattle just couldn’t get right: bacon. It felt like centuries since Chloe got her hands on a good bacon omelet.

Max shook her head and shrugged her shoulders.

“I’m a vegetarian now,” said Max.

Chloe quirked her eyebrow and grinned, swallowing a mouthful of omelet.

“Max Caulfield evolves,” she said.

Chloe was going to miss Max grabbing bacon off her plate every time they ate together. Stealing each others’ food was such a simple pleasure. Chloe wasn’t ready for how much she missed it. But of all the stuff Max had revealed, the vegetarian thing was probably the least shocking.

Max leaned forward.

“So what are we gonna do about that crazy fucking tornado?” she said.

Chloe was glad there was no one sitting in front of them. Chloe couldn’t have handled the awkwardness.

“We find Rachel and we bail,” said Chloe. “Together.”

She’d made up her mind last night. So Arcadia Bay was screwed. That was obvious, even if Chloe had zero clue why she saw that storm. Chloe decided to take it as a warning, the universe or whatever finally throwing her a bone. Maybe Chloe could convince Mikey, Steph, and Samantha to come with them. They could leave. _Together._

Max folded her arms and frowned. She didn’t say anything. And unfortunately, Chloe didn’t have freaky mind powers. She had no idea what Max was thinking.

“Okay, I _seriously_ want to see this junkyard of yours,” said Chloe.

They’d already finished their coffee and food. Max had ordered her usual from back when they were kids: pancakes. Some things never changed. Max’s craving for Two Whales pancakes was eternal.

Max slid out of the booth.

“And whose paying for lunch?” she said. “Or are we going splitsies?”

Chloe thought it over for a minute. She kind of wanted to go splitsies just because she’d never done that before. Usually when she went out with Mikey and Steph, Steph ended up paying for everyone. That had to get old pretty fast.

“I got it,” said Chloe.

She said that before she remembered that Joyce wasn’t there anymore. Chloe couldn’t just put it in her tab this time. But if it helped their friendship keep chugging along, Chloe could spare a few bucks for a nice breakfast.


	3. The Junkyard

The junkyard lived up to its name. It was indeed a yard filled with junk. Old tires, broken down cars, and the occasional syringe. There must have been a million diseases and vermin hiding out there.

And way off in a secluded corner, Max and Rachel’s hideout was still standing.

The moment Chloe stepped inside, it was like she was entering a Max and Rachel museum. Everything in there just oozed Rachel energy. Chloe almost felt like she was trespassing, even though Max was literally leading her by the hand.

One wall had two Polaroids. The first was a beautiful shot of Rachel framed by the setting sun. The other was a shot of a smiling Max flashing a peace sign at the camera.

“So this is where you guys boned down?” said Chloe.

Max sat down on a crate and rolled her eyes. There wasn’t much furniture, but there were a few crates, an old radio, a broken camera, and a massive tapestry of a monarch butterfly.

“Do you have to be gross?” said Max. “We did it at my house. _Obviously._ Rachel’s parents didn’t like me.”

She grabbed an empty bottle and studied it, turning it around in her hands.

“I think they blamed me for Rachel going missing,” she said.

Chloe was leaning over a pile of CDs and DVDs. Why were those even there? There was no TV hooked up or anything. Just the radio.

“That’s bullshit,” said Chloe. “Her parents are dicks.”

Max smiled bitterly.

“I’m not so sure,” she said. “Maybe Rachel got tired of waiting for me to make up my mind, so she just left without me. That’s how she was. She never wanted anyone holding her back.”

Chloe folded her arms.

“You weren’t holding her back,” said Chloe. “You loved her. And I’m sure she loved you. She wouldn’t just leave without you like I did. Unlike me, I’m sure Rachel wasn’t a total piece of shit.”

She swallowed. Chloe had noticed the mix CD on top of the pile. _Songs for Rachel_ with hearts around Rachel’s name. Only Max could have made something so cheesy. Chloe had one too, but suddenly it didn’t seem special anymore. Apparently Max was handing out mix CDs like fucking candy on Halloween.

“So how do we find her?” said Max.

Chloe raised her hand and grinned.

_“Duh,”_ she said. “With my powers! I can rewind and get all the information I need about everything. We just need to figure out who knew about Rachel’s plans. And then the three of us can get the hell out of Bigfootville.”

Max frowned. She was clearly holding something back, but Chloe didn’t know what it could be. Did Max _not_ want to leave Arcadia Bay? No. There was no way Max wanted to spend the rest of her life in this stupid town. It had to be something else.

Chloe leaned against a wall.

“I think we’re dealing with Chaos Theory,” said Chloe. “Otherwise known as “crazy shit happens”. I just don’t have all the science in front of me.”

Max folded her hands into her lap.

“Maybe this is beyond science?” she said.

Chloe snorted.

“Nothing is beyond science, Max,” said Chloe. “Everything will make sense. I know it will. I need…time.”

Chloe darted forward and grabbed the empty bottle of Max’s hand. It was a standard beer bottle, the label rubbed off a long time ago. Chloe tried to picture Max and Rachel chilling in this junkyard shack with beer, but she couldn’t even make the image in her head.

“How about some target practice?” said Chloe. “I get to test my powers and you get to use your gun. Sounds like a double win to me.”

Max touched her jeans, confirming that she did actually have the gun on her. Chloe was just guessing about that part.

“It’s not a toy, Chloe,” said Max. “What happens if you get shot? Then you’re just dead and I can’t fix it.”

Chloe shuffled uncomfortably. _Dammit._ Once again, Mad Max was right. But what was the point if Chloe couldn’t live on the edge? She’d basically been waiting her entire life for something like this. Okay, maybe not _exactly_ like this. Chloe was thinking more along the lines of becoming a mad scientist. But time powers were a close second.

“So don’t point it at me?” said Chloe. “This isn’t rocket science.”

Max stood up, an angry look on her face.

“I’m not pointing it at anything,” said Max.

Chloe raised both hands. _Jesus._ Why was Max getting so worked up? Guns were the least dangerous thing they were playing with. Compared to Chloe’s power to control space and time, bullets were nothing. At least firing a gun couldn’t fuck up space and time.

“I thought you were fun,” said Chloe. “Guess you’re not the sidekick I deserve after all. Your loss. We could have been a great team. Mad Max and Timegirl.”

Before Max could give a snarky response, they both heard footsteps outside. Max’s hand instantly went towards where her gun was hidden. No one was supposed to be out in the junkyard. This was Max’s secret place, a hideout that even her mom and David didn’t know about.

A man stepped forward, blocking the doorway. He was tall with dark hair, a dark beard, and some pretty intimidating neck tattoos.

“Thought I’d find you here,” he said.

Max backed away, almost stumbling over her own feet. Chloe hadn’t noticed it before, but Max had been pretty calm in that bathroom with Nathan. It wasn’t until Nathan whipped out his gun that Max started to legitimately panic. It was like Max had just turned off that part of her brain. But now Max looked terrified, her eyes locked on the man blocking their only exit.

Chloe stepped in front of Max, putting herself between Max and this new guy.

“What do you want?” said Chloe.

Max grabbed Chloe’s shoulders and said her name in a panicked whisper, but Chloe refused to budge. Gun or not, this guy looked scary. And Chloe felt like she’d been dealing with scary assholes for the past two days. It was just reflex by this point.

The man grinned.

“I want my fucking money,” he said.

Max spoke up from behind Chloe. She had her head ducked under Chloe’s shoulder, but she raised it so she could look the scary man right in the eye. She lost at least a hundred intimidation points when she instantly dropped her gaze.

“I don’t have it,” said Max. “I’m sorry.”

She spoke again before the guy could say anything.

“But I can get it!” she said. “Just give me a week. I’ll–I’ll have everything you want.”

She stepped out from behind Chloe. Chloe tried to grab Max’s arm to hold her back, but Max pulled out of Chloe’s weak grip. Max wasn’t being a badass. She was clearly more scared than Chloe and the scary guy knew it.

“Isn’t that what you said last week, little girl?” said the guy. “And the week before? You’re really trying my patience.”

He casually reached into his pocket and pulled out a butterfly knife. He flipped it open, a huge grin on his face as he showed off his sharp little toy. The sight of it made Chloe’s stomach drop into her shoes. Chloe had never seen one in real life before.

“I don’t like getting jerked around,” he said. “You understand me?”

He crossed the room quickly, towering over Max. Before Max could move, he jabbed the butterfly knife at her. Close enough to make her flinch, but not so close that he actually might have accidentally stabbed her. Not that the guy seemed too concerned with drawing blood by accident.

Chloe held up both hands.

“P-Put that down,” said Chloe. “Whatever this is, we can talk. We can be cool. Right?”

And that was why Chloe was never going to become a negotiator. Because the second the words were out of her mouth, the guy swiveled to look at her like she’d spit in his face.

“Who the fuck is this?” he said. “Friend of yours, Max?”

Max swallowed, her eyes locked on the knife.

“Yeah,” she said. “She’s–she’s my friend. Chloe, this is Damon.”

The guy–Damon–laughed. He twisted the knife around in his hand, but he didn’t move it away from Max.

“Tell your _friend_ that she needs to watch her mouth,” he said. “No one messes with Damon Merrick.”

He flourished the knife a little and Max jumped.

“You know what I did to the last girl who mouthed off to me?” said Damon.

Max swallowed and shook her head. She was shaking and there were tears in her eyes. She couldn’t stop looking at the knife as Damon played with it. He was so casual with it, but Max wasn’t fooled. She knew he was ready to strike at a second’s notice.

“I’ll get your money,” said Max. “By the end of the week. I promise.”

Damon growled like a wild animal, waving the knife around in wide dangerous arcs.

“Don’t play games with me,” he said. “I know you’re fucking broke. I know you’re not getting my fucking money. But you know what you _are_ getting, bitch? Huh? You wanna know?”

Chloe sprang forward and tried to grab Damon’s arm. She wasn’t even sure what she was trying to do. Get him away from Max? Get the knife out of his hand?

Damon shoved Chloe away. He whirled to face her with the knife, his eyes alive with rage.

Max flung herself at him. She tried to grab his arm, tried to wrestle the knife away from him. He was bigger and stronger, but Max thought she had the element of surprise. Or maybe she was just desperate.

Chloe didn’t see it happen. She just heard Max cry out and Damon shouting something. She didn’t have time to react fast enough. Not that Chloe could have done anything. It happened too fast for Chloe to have stopped it with brute force.

Max stumbled away from Damon. She was gasping, her eyes wide and turned towards the ceiling. She couldn’t look at it, even as she held the handle with both hands. Max couldn’t look at the knife buried in her side. She couldn’t look at the dark stain slightly visible on her Jane Doe shirt.

Chloe let out the longest and most agonized scream she’d ever heard in her entire life. It ripped out of her throat like the wail of a distressed animal, loud enough to almost break her eardrums. They must have heard that all the way back in Arcadia Bay. Her parents probably heard it in Seattle.

As she watched Max drop to the ground, Chloe was filled with rage. She wanted to charge Damon and scratch his eyes out. She wanted to punch that stupid smile off his face. She wanted to pound and pound and pound her fists into his chest until it caved in. Chloe was watching her best friend die again, watching her best friend bleed out again. It wasn’t fair. It _wasn’t fair._

Chloe raised her hand. If this didn’t work, she was going to kill Damon with her bare hands. Who cared about that stupid storm? Max was fucking dead _again._ And only Chloe could fix it.

The world spun and Chloe was back again. She felt that pressure in her head for a brief second, but she didn’t even care. Even if her head exploded and this rewind was the last thing she ever did, it would be worth it.

Max hopped off her crate seat, a worried look on her face.

“Whoa,” she said. “Chloe, what’s wrong?”

Chloe choked on the words. How could she explain that she saw Max die _again?_ How could she say that out loud? Saying it the first time was hard enough. Seeing Max get shot in that bathroom was hard enough.

“Max, we have to leave,” said Chloe. _“Now._ Someone–someone’s coming. We have to go.”

She froze, her heart beating out of her chest. _Footsteps._ Footsteps right outside. Heavy footsteps. Getting close. _Fuck._ Chloe didn’t go back far enough.

“Sorry,” said Chloe.

Max opened her mouth, but Chloe was already grabbing the gun. By the time Damon appeared in the doorway, Chloe already had it pointed at him.

Damon raised both hands, his brow knitted in surprise. This clearly wasn’t the lukewarm welcome he’d been expecting. Chloe enjoyed how he was caught off guard. Never bring a knife to a gun fight.

“What are you doing with that, little girl?” he said.

Chloe’s hands shook. She’d never shot anyone before. Not even in a video game or with a paintball gun. Chloe’s parents hated guns. But Chloe knew the gist of it. She could pull the trigger. She could kill this guy before he killed Max.

It would be so easy. They could bury his body somewhere in the junkyard, a secluded little spot away from prying eyes. There was no way anyone would come looking for this scumbag. He probably didn’t have any friends or family. And even if he did, why would any of them suspect two innocent teenage girls? If things got really bad, Chloe and Max could always leave town. They could run away to Seattle and live with Chloe’s parents.

All Chloe had to do was pull the trigger. All she had to do was kill the piece of shit that murdered Max.

But Max would never forgive her for this. It didn’t matter that Chloe saw it happen, it didn’t matter that Max was dead on the ground in another timeline. They would split up and go their separate ways. Max would never talk to her again. Max wouldn’t want to know where Chloe was or what she was doing. All of Chloe’s efforts would be for nothing. And did Chloe really want to shoot anyone? _Really?_ Did she want to be a murderer? _Really?_

Damon stepped forward and grabbed the gun from Chloe’s hand. She didn’t resist. She just stood there shaking, watching as he took the gun from her.

Damon waved the gun around and spoke to Max.

“Consider this collateral,” he said. “You get my money by the end of the week and I won’t track you down with this. Got it?”

Max nodded, her eyes on the gun.

Chloe didn’t even know if the gun was loaded. Did it matter? Even an unloaded gun was dangerous in the hands of someone like Damon Merrick. Chloe didn’t want to find out what else he had in his arsenal.

Damon turned and left the hideout. He waved the gun in the air as he walked, like he was worried Max might forget his threat.

After he was gone, Max turned to Chloe with an angry look on her face. Well, half-angry and half-relieved.

That was hands-down the scariest thing that had happened to them so far. And Chloe thought Nathan Prescott was unhinged. That could have gone so much worse. Chloe knew that for a fact and it made everything feel more permanent. Every time Chloe split time like that, she was choosing one reality over the other. It was mind-bending to think about. _Reality is whatever you want it to be, Price._

“What were you thinking?” said Max.

Chloe hugged herself so her shoulders would stop shaking. She wasn’t sure if she was happy she hadn’t shot Damon or pissed at herself. Chloe didn’t even want to go back and check.

“I was thinking that he was going to hurt you,” said Chloe. “Bad. But now he has your gun and you’re alive, so I guess we win.”

Max’s expression changed. She wasn’t angry anymore. Max couldn’t even begin to comprehend what it was like to have rewind powers. Having all those different realities just in front of her sounded like an unholy nightmare. How had Chloe not broken down already?

“Oh, Chloe,” she said.

She wrapped Chloe in a bone-crushing hug.

Chloe and Max left the hideout and drove back to Blackwell. Max and Rachel’s secret hideout didn’t feel very secret anymore.

On the way to Blackwell, Chloe asked about Damon Merrick. She almost didn’t want her questions answered. The Max she knew would have never gotten involved with scary guys like Damon Merrick. No wonder Max was packing heat if creeps like Damon were after her.

“He’s one of Rachel’s friends,” said Max.

Chloe’s eyebrows practically went into orbit.

“Your girlfriend was hanging out with scary losers like Damon Merrick?” said Chloe.

Max frowned, flexing her hands on the wheel.

“Not exactly,” said Max. “She was with this guy. Frank Bowers. And Frank knew Damon. I think the three of them might have hung out.”

Chloe furrowed her brow, trying to put this together.

“Wait, she was _with_ Frank Bowers?” said Chloe. “Like banging him? Did you know?”

Max shrugged like it wasn’t a big deal.

“Rachel never told me, but I kind of knew,” said Max. “Rachel just did what she wanted. We weren’t, like, exclusive or anything. Or at least Rachel wasn’t.”

Chloe couldn’t even imagine how furious she would have been if she’d found out her girlfriend was with Frank Bowers. Frank was a complete creep. What would someone like Rachel even see in a guy like that? He lived in a filthy RV and sold drugs for a living. Not exactly boyfriend material for an accomplished pretty girl like Rachel Amber. And doing that shit behind Max’s back? That made the whole thing even grosser.

“So Damon mentioned money,” said Chloe. “Did you borrow from him?”

Max shook her head, eyes on the road.

“Not me,” she said. “But Rachel did. She borrowed a shitload before she disappeared. And since I was close to her, Damon thinks it’s on me.”

Now Chloe was even more certain she should have just shot Damon Merrick. Or basically anything other than standing there and letting Damon take Max’s gun. Now Max was unarmed and Chloe couldn’t stick to her all day. _Great job, Price._

“What?” said Chloe. “That’s bullshit. You don’t even know this guy.”

Max sighed.

“Damon doesn’t care,” said Max. “And–and I kind of promised I’d get him the money Rachel owed. I was so fucking scared, Chloe. He–he got my number and I met him and–I can’t tell David about this. I can’t worry him like this.”

Chloe wasn’t even thinking of bringing David into this mess. Too many assholes, so little time.

* * *

They reached Blackwell and Max dropped Chloe off.

Chloe was sorry to see her go. Today had been all kinds of scary, but at least they were together. Now Chloe was alone at Blackwell again. And it was raining. _Awesome._

She climbed the stairs and headed into the hallway. Chloe had some time before class. She could maybe find Mikey and Steph and ask them about coffee with Stella. Maybe the three of them could get together and do something in Chloe’s dorm room? Chloe really wasn’t ready to be alone again after that horrible encounter with Damon.

There were posters up all over the walls and a huge banner. The Vortex Club was throwing some kind of big shindig. The “End of the World” party. Supposedly it was going to be this huge blowout with a DJ, tons of booze, and probably more drugs than common sense.

Chloe rolled her eyes. _Oh blow me._ What did Nathan Prescott and his band of merry dumbasses even do all day? Did they spend all of their spare time planning these massive parties for their elitist little club? Who was even paying for this whole thing? It sure as fuck wasn’t Blackwell. That meant Sean Prescott was paying out of pocket for his son and a bunch of students to party like animals. There had to be a better use for the Prescott fortune.

She frowned and stopped in her tracks. Now that Chloe thought about it, it _was_ super weird that Sean Prescott was throwing so much cash at his son for partying. Mr. Prescott was already paying for Nathan to be at Blackwell and bribing the principal for extra perks and privileges. So why did Sean Prescott care so much about a shitty club?

Chloe walked past a dozen of those stupid “End of the World” posters. Maybe she was looking too deep into this. The Prescotts were elite assholes and the Vortex Club was a dumb rich-person thing. End of story. It couldn’t have had anything to do with the chaos that seemed to be dropping in Arcadia Bay.

Juliet was standing in the hallway staring at her phone. She was alone for once. No Zachary in sight. They must have had a fight or something. Chloe didn’t care.

“Hey Juliet,” said Chloe.

Juliet looked up from her phone. She was clearly not in the mood to talk. But Chloe was never in the mood to talk, so they were probably even.

“You’re, um, kind of a reporter, right?” said Chloe. “ _Blackwell Totem_?”

Not that she read it. But sometimes Stella texted her about interesting facts and history dropping in the latest issue. None of it interested Chloe, but it seemed to make Steph really happy. Chloe was never going to understand her.

Juliet rolled her eyes.

“Oh yes, I’m _kind of_ a reporter,” she said. “Just like Bill Nye is _kind of_ a science guy.”

Chloe bit her lip. _Think, Price. Is whatever info you need really worth talking to Juliet? Is it?_ Apparently it was, because Chloe opened her mouth again.

“I was wondering about some, um, things,” she said. “About the Vortex Club. For–for an essay I’m doing. For class.”

Juliet waved her hand dismissively in Chloe’s direction, her gaze already slipping back to her phone.

“Check some older issues of the _Totem_ ,” said Juliet. “You should find everything I’ve written about them.”

Chloe didn’t want to spend any amount of time scouring the Totem, but she thanked Juliet for her help. She got a nod and a grunt in reply.

Before heading to Ms. Holt’s class to get her science on, Chloe popped into Mr. Jefferson’s photography class. There was one other person she needed to talk to. Someone who might be able to help her with this Vortex Club stuff.

She could almost smell the pretentious artist vibe. _God._ Why were people at Blackwell so up their own asses? At least Mr. Jefferson was cool.

Chloe spotted Jefferson with Victoria Chase. Poor bastard. Victoria was totally hot for teacher and she wasn’t subtle about it.

Victoria was bending over the desk and saying something as Mr. Jefferson nodded at her. She didn’t see Chloe Price come into the room, but Mr. Jefferson glanced up and nodded at Chloe.

Chloe nodded back. They were both having the exact same thought: _Victoria Chase is so fucking try-hard, isn’t she? Holy shit._ Chloe marked this silent exchange as one of the few times she felt genuinely bad for a teacher.

Dana was getting her photo taken by Hayden. Dana was such a living breathing cliche from a high school movie: the gorgeous cheerleader. If Chloe wasn’t a hundred percent sure Dana was straight, she would have been into her.

Chloe crashed the impromptu photoshoot. Hayden was pissed, but Chloe have zero shits. This was more important than Hayden playing around with his little camera. Chloe didn’t even apologize for messing up his shot.

“Hey Dana,” she said. “Ask you something? Quick?”

Dana patted her hair and nodded. She seemed surprisingly cool about Chloe ruining her posing.

“What do you know about, uh, Rachel Amber?” said Chloe.

Dana and Rachel had to have hung out with the same crowd, right? A beautiful cheerleader and Blackwell’s most popular student? Match made in Heaven. And there had to be someone at Blackwell that Rachel confided in, someone who knew all her dirty little secrets. Someone who could help Chloe build a nice thick character profile.

Dana and Hayden shared a confused look.

“Um, she’s missing?” said Dana. “I don’t know what you want, Kari.”

Chloe clutched the bag strap across her chest.

“It’s Chloe,” she said.

Hayden waved the camera at her, like he thought Chloe didn’t see it. He was less of an asshole than most Vortex Club bros. Chloe didn’t understand why he was even part of Nathan’s little clique. Didn’t being a semi-decent human being automatically disqualify you from Vortex-dom? Or was Hayden just too chill?

“Posing in progress, Price,” he said.

Chloe held up both hands and side-stepped out of Hayden’s shot. _Fuck._ She really thought she could do this people thing. But that just wasn’t Chloe’s strength. People were so much more complex than test tubes and chemicals. She should probably leave all that stuff to Mad Max.

But how the hell was Chloe supposed to learn about Rachel Amber if no one would talk to her? Everything she already knew was either from Max or it came through the grape vine. There had to be a better way. A way that didn’t involve making an ass of herself.

Chloe almost backed into Mr. Jefferson on her way out.

“In a hurry, Price?” said Jefferson.

He flashed her the smile that must have driven the ladies wild. No wonder Ms. Holt was all over him. Even Chloe recognized that he was a catch. But she didn’t buy all those stories about Mr. Jefferson banging his students. Except maybe Victoria, because Victoria was Victoria.

“I’ve gotta get to class,” said Chloe. “Good talk, Mr. J.”

Jefferson folded his arms.

“Are you feeling alright?” he said. “You look stressed.”

Chloe almost laughed in his face. _Stressed? Uh, try fucking terrified and confused. But nice guess, teach._

“I’m just a little worried about Samantha,” said Chloe.

And Rachel Amber, and her time powers, and the Vortex Club, and Nathan, and…

Mr. Jefferson frowned.

“I didn’t know you two were close,” he said.

Chloe shrugged.

Mr. Jefferson reached up and smoothed his hair. He’d really nailed that hipster teacher look. Clean and handsome, but not try-hard enough to ring any alarm bells with the local youth. There was something about him that just made Jefferson belong behind the camera. But he was way too good for somewhere like Arcadia Bay.

“Well, Samantha certainly needs friends,” he said. “I’m assuming you’ve seen this video.”

Chloe wished she hadn’t. She regretted opening that link and she regretted watching that entire video. It was going to haunt her forever. Whatever sick fuck had e-mailed it to everyone must have included the faculty. Imagining poor Ashley Holt getting that in her inbox made Chloe feel sick.

“Yeah,” said Chloe. “And of course no one’s helping her. Just another day at Blackwell.”

Mr. Jefferson rubbed his chin. He looked young, but he couldn’t have been less than early forties or late thirties. Chloe had seen some of his early work plastered all over his classroom. Magazine covers featuring pretty girls.

“Samantha is a very, well, _challenging_ person to help,” said Jefferson. “She’s never really fit in with everyone else here. Quite frankly, I understand why everyone is so eager to pick on her. She does make herself an easy target.”

He held up his hands before Chloe could say anything.

“Of course she’s very intelligent,” said Jefferson. “And you’re right as always, Ms. Price. She doesn’t deserve any of this bullshit. It’s a cruel world we live in, even through the camera lens.”

He made a noise of disgust.

“Especially through the camera lens,” he said.

Jefferson’s phone rang, instantly putting an end to the conversation. He dug into his pocket and pulled out the phone to check the caller ID. It must have been someone important, because Jefferson immediately waved Chloe away. He retreated with the phone in his hand and a huge frown on his face. Chloe’s signal that she needed to get to class.

So Chloe had learned nothing new about Rachel. But that was okay. A plan was starting to form in her head. It was a stupid reckless plan, but that was the best kind.

The only thing Chloe needed was a set of keys. And fortunately for her, her best friend was related to the head of Blackwell security.


	4. The Roof

Chloe was two minutes late for class. That didn’t seem like a big deal to her, but she could feel Ms. Holt staring at her as she rushed in. Everyone else had started without her. Chloe had to run to her station and take a seat next to Mikey.

“How was breakfast?” said Mikey.

Chloe nudged him.

“How was coffee?” she said.

She glanced at Stella and Brooke. The two girls were talking to each other and holding beakers. They were probably swapping info for the experiment, but there was a chance they were talking about Mikey. Stella didn’t really hang out with Steph and Mikey.

“I want details later,” said Chloe.

Mikey nodded mutely.

Chloe stared at him. She’d assumed that little coffee date went pretty well. Mikey wasn’t normally into selfies. But he also hadn’t texted her a thousand times. In fact, Chloe texted _him._ She told him she was heading back to school and that he should probably have an excuse ready if she didn’t make it to class.

“Hey, Mikey,” said Chloe. “You okay? Did Stella, um, reject you hard? Come on, talk to Dr. Chloe.”

But Mikey grabbed a beaker off the table and handed it to her.

“We’d better do our work,” he said.

Chloe took the beaker. She wanted to ask Mikey what the fuck was wrong, but she had a feeling he wasn’t going to tell her. _Fuck._ Did she really mess things up? _Awesome job, Price. Now Mikey hates you._

She wanted to argue with herself, but Mikey turned away and started working on his own. Mikey _never_ worked on his own. He always seemed so disinterested in science, a feeling Chloe didn’t understand at all. Mikey was more into art. Comic books and fantasy novels.

Her phone went off, but Chloe ignored it. Ms. Holt had a strict “No phones in class” rule that she enforced with an iron fist. If Chloe got caught texting, she was in deep shit. Wells was already out to get her.

So many people were after her: Dickhead David, the principal, Nathan, and now a scary drug dealer. Chloe didn’t think she had enough rewind or willpower to get all of them off her crack.

Ms. Holt was starting to move. She was walking up the aisle, checking to make sure everyone was actually doing their work.

Chloe focused on her work. If she was lucky, she wouldn’t turn into an awkward sweaty mess and drop something while Ms. Holt was surveying her domain. For some reason— _some reason—_ Chloe could hardly focus on her work when Ms. Holt was prowling through the classroom. It was starting to become a problem.

She hardly looked up when Zachary poked his head into class. It was his voice that drew Chloe out of her science trance.

“Some crazy shit’s going down at the girls’ dorm!” he shouted.

Ms. Holt whirled to face him and started yelling about how they were in the middle of mixing chemicals. Not a good time to barge into the classroom and distract everyone. But Zachary had never been very smart or self-aware.

A few students seized the opportunity to bolt. Any excuse to avoid doing their work. Ms. Holt tried to stop them, but they ran right past her. Chloe didn’t get it. Blackwell was in full drama mode constantly. How did anyone care anymore? It was just the same song in a different tune over and over again.

But Chloe had a bad feeling. She was thinking about Rachel Amber’s disappearance. There was no way something like that was happening again, right? Had another girl gone missing and now everyone was freaking out? Or was it more crazy weather? Or had Rachel Amber actually been found?

She put down her beakers and dashed out of the classroom.

* * *

It was raining. How thematically appropriate.

Chloe could hear people shouting and exclaiming in horror as she approached the dormitory. What the fuck was going on out there? Did Victoria Chase finally lose it and claw someone’s eyes out? If she had to theorize, probably Samuel the janitor. Maybe he made some cryptic comment and Victoria got murderously pissed.

A dozen students were gathered outside the dorm. Chloe saw faces she recognized. Almost everyone looked shocked and scared, mouths hanging open and eyes wide. Chloe had never seen everyone so shook up. This didn’t feel like some pointless high school drama. This felt serious.

Following several pairs of eyes, Chloe raised her head. From where she was standing near the back, she got an excellent view of the dorm roof.

Chloe’s heart slammed into her ribcage like a wrecking ball. _No. No no no NO._

Samantha was standing on the edge of the roof. She must have been soaked from the rain, but she didn’t seem to care. She was looking straight ahead like she couldn’t see the crowd of shocked onlookers.

As everyone watched, Samantha took one step forward and plunged off the roof. She just _dropped._ Dropped like a sack of rocks into a river. Her long hair caught the wind as she fell, whipping behind her like a curtain. Her arms were spread as if she thought she could fly.

Chloe might have screamed. She probably made some kind of noise, but no one heard it over the shrieks and gasps. No one heard it over the sound of Samantha’s body splatting on the rain-soaked ground.

Samantha couldn’t be dead. She _couldn’t._ Her and Chloe talked just a few hours ago. There was still a pile of unread texts from her on Chloe’s phone. Chloe had given Samantha a copy of her favorite CD. How could she be dead? How could she be lying there and not moving? How could any of this be happening?

Chloe raised her hand. Samantha couldn’t be dead. She _couldn’t._

Chloe could feel herself straining. There was that crushing pressure again, so strong she thought her head was literally going to explode. But she kept going, kept rewinding. A headache was splitting her brain in two and she was pretty sure she was going to pop an eyeball. The light scorched her eyes and Chloe legitimately worried she might go blind. Her nose was bleeding again and her skin felt like it was trying to crawl off her bones.

_Keep. Going. Keep. Going._ Chloe pushed herself harder, pushed through the pain. But she couldn’t keep doing this. She couldn’t just rewind over and over again. There wasn’t enough time. There was never going to be enough time. _Dammit._ Chloe needed more time. She needed…

The world stopped. Everything went quiet. For a moment, Chloe thought she was passing out. She fought against it, fought to stay conscious. She knew what would happen if she closed her eyes and let sleep take her.

But the world around her wasn’t fading away. It was frozen. Chloe had stopped time.

She forced herself to walk. Chloe could barely move her legs. That crushing pressure in her head was getting worse. She moved slowly, weaving around frozen students. Chloe wanted to run, but she was scared she might actually pass out if she tried. Chloe was already dangerously close to blacking out.

David and two other security guards were at the front. David was leading the charge into the dorm. But they were too late. Or they were _going_ to be late, unless Chloe fixed this.

She made it up the stairs and into the dormitory. Chloe already knew how to get to the roof. Those doors were supposed to be locked, but locks had never really deterred anyone at Blackwell.

Chloe finally reached the roof. Samantha was standing a few feet away and looking over the edge. She wasn’t facing Chloe, but she didn’t need to be. Chloe knew Samantha was crying, her tears mixing with the rain.

Chloe reached out to grab her and drag her away from the edge. There were going to be questions, questions Chloe couldn’t answer. But she didn’t care. If she could save Samantha’s life, it was worth it.

She stumbled back and cried out. Her powers were faltering. Chloe tried to keep the world silent and still, but her vision was swimming and her head was about to burst. If she didn’t stop, she was definitely going to pass out.

Hearing Chloe’s cry, Samantha turned to face her. She was almost soaked from the rain, her clothes plastered against her body and her hair pressed to her face.

“What are you doing here?” she said.

Chloe stared at her open palm. She couldn’t do it. Her rewind was totally gone. What the fuck was Chloe supposed to do now?

“Go away,” said Samantha. “I don’t want you to see this.”

Chloe swallowed. This wasn’t fair. It should have been Max up on that roof, not her. Max was good at people stuff. Max could talk, Max knew how to listen. But Chloe? Chloe was a dumpster fire of bad social skills. _Channel your inner Max, Price. What would Max do right now? What would she say?_

“You don’t have to do this,” said Chloe.

Samantha shook her head.

“But I do, Chloe,” she said. “Do you have any idea how humiliating this is? Even my parents aren’t on my side. They think sending me to Blackwell was a mistake.”

Chloe searched for something to say, but she was drawing a blank. She just didn’t know Samantha that well. _What would Max say? What would Max say?_

Chloe shut her eyes for a second. _Fuck it._ This wasn’t a game. This was someone’s _life._ And if Max had been there, she would have told Chloe to stop stalling. Chloe needed to say what was on her mind. She owed Samantha some honesty.

“Then your parents are dicks,” said Chloe.

She started to take a step forward, but she stopped herself.

“Look, you know I hate pretty much everyone at this elitist bullshit school,” said Chloe. “I don’t fit in with anyone here and it sucks.”

She raised both hands and shrugged her shoulders.

“But you know what?” said Chloe. “You’re nothing like those dipshits. You know how I can tell? Because you would never bully someone over a fucking video. You’re better than that, Samantha. You’re better than everyone here.”

Samantha hung her head, her shoulders slumping.

“I’m a freak, Chloe,” she said. “No one here likes me. Everything would be better if I just–if I just disappeared.”

Chloe shook her head.

“Better for who?” she said. “Because if you were gone, there’d be one less cool person at Blackwell. I-I like you Samantha. You’re my friend.”

Samantha dragged a hand across her face, scrubbing away tears and rain.

“You stood up for me,” said Samantha. “But I don’t–why did you do that? Why did you step between me and David? You know he doesn’t like you.”

Chloe took a small step forward.

“David’s a fucking bully,” she said. “Of course I wasn’t going to let him hassle you. You don’t deserve any of that, Samantha. You deserve a friend who stands up for you.”

Samantha furrowed her brow.

“And–and the CD,” she said. “You gave me that CD this morning. Why? Why do you care about me so much?”

Chloe rubbed the back of her neck. Her palms were sweating, but she had to get through this.

“I told you, I’m your friend,” said Chloe.

She took another tiny step forward, her heart thumping in her ears.

“You need to stop blaming yourself for that video,” said Chloe. “You didn’t ask to get wasted. You didn’t ask for Victoria to be an asshole. This is on them, not you. You did nothing wrong.”

Samantha took a long shaky breath.

“But it _is_ my fault,” she said. “I shouldn’t have gone to that party. I did this to myself. Be-Because I wanted Nathan to…to..”

Chloe tried to edge out her fear with anger, but it wasn’t working. Her voice was still shaking.

“That’s bullshit,” said Chloe. “And I think you know that.”

She clenched her fists at her sides. She wanted to look away, but she couldn’t.

“You’ve spent so long blaming yourself for everything,” said Chloe. “But it’s _bullshit._ Nothing you did caused this. And the longer you spend blaming yourself, the longer it will be before you can make those fuckers pay for what they did.”

Samantha lifted her head.

“How?” she said. “The police won’t….”

Chloe interrupted her.

“I don’t mean the police,” she said. “I’m talking about _real_ justice.”

She reached forward, offering Samantha her hand.

“But I need your help,” she said. “I can’t do this on my own. Don’t let those assholes win, Samantha. We can beat them. I know we can.”

Samantha stared at Chloe’s hand. She was smiling faintly.

“That song,” she said. “That song on the album you gave me. “Friend”. That was about you, wasn’t it?”

Chloe’s hand shook.

“Yeah,” she said.

Samantha reached out and grabbed Chloe’s hand. Chloe’s hand was cold and slick from the rain, but Samantha held on. She clutched her like a lifeline, letting Chloe pull her away from the edge. She collapsed into her, her entire body falling against Chloe like she’d passed out.

“I’m sorry!” she said. “I’m so sorry.”

Chloe let out an empty laugh as the relief flooded through her.

“No, I’m sorry,” she said. “I’m sorry I’m such a shitty friend.”

She hugged Samantha tight, afraid to let her go.

* * *

David escorted Chloe to the principal’s office. She didn’t even resist when he grabbed her arm. She was in a fog, watching as people–paramedics maybe–took Samantha away from her. Chloe instantly missed Samantha’s weight against her.

Chloe wanted to follow Samantha to the hospital. But David was dragging her away, his hand locked around her shoulder. She was forced to watch Samantha disappear into the crowd. A bunch of people had their phones out. Another video of Samantha. _Assholes._

She dropped into a chair in Wells’ office. Chloe and Wells weren’t alone. Mark Jefferson, Ashley Holt, and Nathan Prescott were already there. David closed the door behind Chloe.

Wells sat down at his desk. He looked incredibly tired. And just this once, Chloe totally understood. She couldn’t even imagine being the principal of Blackwell on a day like this. She knew for a fact that Wells kept a full stash of vintage booze in his office. He was probably going to drink himself into a fucking coma after he got rid of them.

“This has been a dark day for Blackwell,” said Wells.

Chloe stifled a snort. _No shit._ Vortex Club parties and missing girls were one thing. But a student almost committing suicide on campus? Definitely a skid mark on Blackwell’s permanent record. And unlike all those Vortex Club scandals, there was no way this was getting brushed under the rug. The press were already sniffing around.

“I will be extending my deepest apologies to both Samantha’s family and any of her friends,” said Wells.

Chloe bit her lip. _Smooth one, jackass. Couldn’t have done that before Samantha almost killed herself?_

It was the highest order of steaming bullshit. _Now_ the faculty actually gave a shit? But of course they didn’t give a rat’s ass about Samantha until it threatened their image. Chloe wanted to jump out of her chair and throw that ugly bronze bird at Principal Wells’ face.

Chloe kept her mouth shut. Holding her tongue like that was torture, but this wasn’t the time for a violent outburst. Chloe couldn’t risk getting thrown out of Blackwell. Not until she knew the truth. Not until she took down Nathan Prescott.

“Despite everything, I’m proud of you for banding together to save a girl’s life,” said Wells.

Chloe looked around. Okay, the last time she checked, _she_ was the only one who went up on that roof. Everyone else was too busy gawking and recording with their phones to give a shit about Samantha’s life. How did Nathan Prescott even factor into that equation?

Wells shook his head and Chloe went back to feeling slightly sorry for him. He was an asshole for not helping Samantha, but he was also carrying the weight of Blackwell on his shoulders. That had to narrow your perspective. This school was really good at breaking people who didn’t deserve it.

“Mr. Jefferson,” said Wells. “I understand you spoke to Samantha about her problems. Yet you kept this conversation to yourself instead of alerting the staff. Why is that?”

Mr. Jefferson let out a miserable sigh. Ms. Holt rubbed his arm and said something in a soft voice.

“Samantha confided in me about what really happened at the party,” said Mr. Jefferson. “And I honored her request to keep our conversation private. I-I was shortsighted.”

Chloe grabbed the arms of her chair and twisted around to stare at Mr. Jefferson. So there was someone else at Blackwell that Samantha trusted. Someone who let her down. _God._ How many people in Samantha’s life had let her down?

Wells turned to David.

“Those roof doors should be locked,” he said. “They were not.”

David’s upper lip curled and he nodded. He was trying to put on a tough face, but he was clearly shaken up. Chloe would have felt sorry for him, but he was still a piece of shit for bullying a girl who was going through a bad time.

Wells finally focused on Nathan. Nathan didn’t wither or flinch under the principal’s gaze. It was hard to believe Nathan had been freaking out in the girls’ bathroom a day ago. He seemed so calm now.

“I believe you are responsible for the Vortex Club parties,” said Wells. “And since the incident took place at one such party, I’m afraid a thorough investigation needs to be done.”

Chloe rolled her eyes. She wondered what was going to come out of this “thorough investigation”. Probably a fat load of nothing.

Wells swiveled in his chair to face Chloe.

“Of course your heroism is appreciated,” he said. “I dread to think what would have happened if you hadn’t been on the roof.”

Chloe flinched. She _knew_ what would have happened. The image was still fresh in her mind: Samantha plunging off the roof and splatting like over-ripe fruit. No one could have survived that. Or if they did, they would have been messed up for life.

“But that begs the question,” said Wells. “Why were you on the roof? Did you follow Samantha up there knowing her intention? Please enlighten us.”

Chloe hesitated. She hadn’t tested out her powers since the roof. Were they still gone? Did Chloe only get one shot at this? Or did she have a chance to rewind if she fucked up?

She glanced at Nathan. She knew this was all his fault. But what was going to happen to him if she actually accused him? Probably nothing, because Chloe had zero proof. She needed more time to follow up on her leads. But if Chloe didn’t throw Nathan under the bus, who was she pointing fingers at? Mr. Jefferson? Ms. Holt? David? No, if it was anyone, it had to be Nathan Prescott.

Chloe fidgeted in her chair. Should she accuse Nathan? Or should she keep her mouth shut?

Chloe shut her eyes. It wrecked her to do this, but she didn’t have a choice. And if her rewind really was gone, this might just be the safer play.

She opened her eyes and locked her gaze on Principal Wells.

“I was worried about her,” said Chloe. “No, she didn’t tell me she was going to jump off–try to jump off a fucking roof.”

She squirmed in her seat again, dropping her gaze. Lying used to be so easy when it was about homework or curfew.

“Can I go now?” said Chloe. “I don’t really feel like being here anymore.”

Nathan leaned forward in his seat. He hadn’t said a word this whole time.

“I agree,” said Nathan. “Frankly, I’m devastated. I’d like to take some time to process.”

Chloe spun to face him, gripping the chair so she didn’t spring out of it and beat the shit out of Nathan. She thought he was a monster before, but now it was like he wasn’t even trying to keep the mask on. How could he be so _calm?_ How could he not be an emotional wreck after watching a girl almost die because of him?

She forced herself to look at Wells. _So Nathan’s a complete psycho. Big deal. This your first day, Price?_

Chloe’s fingers twitched. She could feel it, almost like an electric pulse. Her power was back. For some inexplicable reason, she could rewind again. Chloe didn’t even have to test it out. She just knew, like it had become a part of her.

But did she want to rewind? Or did she want to get the hell out of this office?

Chloe chose the second one. For once, she was with Nathan: she needed some time off to process.

Except she didn’t _have_ time. The storm was still coming and Rachel was still missing.

* * *

Mikey invited Chloe to hang out with him and Steph on campus. Chloe declined, claiming she was still broken up about Samantha. And that wasn’t a lie. She _was_ still broken up about Samantha. But that wasn’t why Chloe was holed up in her room as the sun was setting.

Sometime during the chaos, Juliet had sent Chloe some old issues of the Blackwell _Totem_. The subject line of the e-mail was _You’d better tell me what you need these for._ Chloe appreciated the gesture, but she probably wasn’t going to be doing that.

Most of it was pretty standard for a school newspaper: Juliet interviewing members of the Vortex Club, long paragraphs about the latest Vortex Club bash, etc. Chloe skipped through all the boring fluff.

The latest Vortex Club article was entitled _Vortex Club or Vortex Cult?_ Authored by Juliet Watson.

Chloe could hear her heart pounding in her ears like a bass drum. She wasn’t sure what any of this meant yet. But none of it sounded good.

Mikey texted her. He said there was something she had to see. Chloe needed to get her ass onto the main campus right now. Something insane was happening in the sky.

Chloe left her dorm room and walked to the main campus area. Everything was eerily quiet. Hard to believe Samantha had almost jumped from that roof less than three hours ago. It didn’t feel real. It felt like Chloe was trapped inside a nightmare. A nightmare where she kept going back in time and fucking everything up.

Except Samantha. Samantha was alive and that made everything worth it, even if Chloe’s powers didn’t make sense.

Chloe stood on the main campus area, squinting up into the sky. At first she wasn’t sure what Mikey wanted her to see. She didn’t understand why everyone was sitting around and looking shocked. Whatever it was, it couldn’t be more insane than everything else had been so far, right?

And then she spotted it. An eclipse.

Chloe frowned. _What the hell?_ There wasn’t supposed to be an eclipse today. Chloe should know. She thought eclipses were awesome and had the nearest one marked on her calendar.

She hugged herself, feeling a chill in the air.

Something was happening n Arcadia Bay. Something was coming, something massive. And Chloe wasn’t talking about the storm. This was something else, something less explainable than insane weather.

This felt _mystical._ And Chloe didn’t really believe in that stuff because it wasn’t science. But she also didn’t believe in time travel or surprise eclipses. Maybe science wasn’t in control this time.

It was all about Chaos Theory. Crazy shit happened.

* * *

**Epilogue**

David hung up his security cap. Feeling Vanessa’s warm hand on his shoulder, he turned. There were tears in his eyes. Vanessa pulled him into a hug.

Nathan sat on his bed, the gun and a photo of Rachel lying at his feet. He had his head in his hands, his shoulders shaking as he sobbed into his palms. Victoria Chase stood across the room from him, staring out the window.

Samantha was looking out the window of her hospital room, her arms wrapped around herself.

Ms. Holt yelled something at Mr. Jefferson. He tried to take a step towards her, but she shoved him away and marched off by herself. Mr. Jefferson watched her go.

Damon Merrick tossed Frank Bowers a copy of his account book. Frank opened it up, revealing Max Caulfield’s name written in bold red letters and underlined. Frank shut the book and turned to look at the setting sun. Damon pulled out his phone and made a call.

Max got a text from Chloe. Chloe had a plan to get them all the information they needed, but they needed to commit a minor felony first. Max rolled her eyes, but she texted back that she was all in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eventually I'll (probably) write a Before-the-Storm prequel with Max to tie up some loose plot threads.
> 
> And for those of you who are wondering "Wait, where's Kate Marsh if she's been replaced by Samantha?": Kate Marsh is still at Blackwell, but Chloe doesn't hang out with a lot of people and Max doesn't go to school there anymore. In my personal headcanon for this AU, Kate hangs out with Warren (who is also still at Blackwell) and she's a lot happier because of course Victoria and Nathan aren't targeting her. 
> 
> I know the importance of music to the Life is Strange experience, so every song mentioned in the episodes (including "Friend" by Pisshead) is a real song that you can listen to. When I'm finished, I might make a Spotify playlist featuring all the songs mentioned in the AU (and maybe some extras).


End file.
